Tracking innovation, development and experimentation
in information studies and library science and spotting new technologies, trends, fun stuff and much more.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Inkling and iPad will revolutionize textbooks

With yesterday's launch the iPad publishers have to find a way to bring their content to the color, touchscreen device. While it wouldn’t be too difficult to simply scan in text and present it in a static format a la Kindle, to take advantage of this entirely new platform and all of its capabilities is going to present a challenge. That challenge is giving rise to some new startups looking to help publishers make the transition from paper to digital.

Inkling, a small startup is looking to help textbook makers convert their content into digitized versions that are more than just static reproductions of the original text. They’re helping spur the kind of innovation that could change the way students learn.

According to Inkling, they put everything students need, from textbooks to assessment to friends, right at their fingertips, helping them reach their learning objectives more quickly and with better results. Features include:

Interactive figures. Inkling lets you directly manipulate objects to explore them. Want to know if two molecules bond? Use your fingertips to pull them together and see

Custom spine. Inkling organizes content based on your assignments. It shows you everything you need to do, all at once, no matter where the content is from. It's like a custom textbook, just for you.

Reader. When it's time to read a traditional textbook, Inkling does an amazing job. Dog-ear your pages, skip from chapter to chapter with gestures, and jump from figure to figure with your finger.

Device sync. Want to finish up a reading while waiting in line? Anything you've got on your iPad appears right on your iPhone or iPod touch, too.

It will also change the way teachers teach by allowing them to track student progress and see who has completed the reading assignment before lecture, and what's tripping students up. They can also distribute content. Don't make students pick up expensive printed material, but distribute PDFs right alongside their textbooks free of charge.